Two men sentenced for types of stealing

NILES -- Stealing is stealing, whether it's illegally copying a movie or making a false insurance claim, Berrien County Trial Judge Scott Schofield said this week. Schofield first sentenced Victor Jones, 40, of Silverbrook Avenue in Niles, for copying an audiovisual recording on April 17 in Niles. Jones, who is already on probation in another matter in South Bend, must pay $1,620 in fines and costs. "Do not steal is a big one, it's in the top 10," Schofield told Jones. "Is it any less of a theft than if you break into a home and steal a television and give it away?" Jones told the judge he didn't realize what he was doing was a crime. "I didn't know so much before," Jones said. "I ask for leniency for my lack of knowledge. I'm a spiritual man." His attorney, Lanny Fisher, said Hollywood was the victim in this case. Schofield said it wasn't just "Hollywood" but also the people who worked to create the movie, including the actors, writers, directors, producers and investors. In the other case, Billy John French, 32, of North Main Street in Buchanan, was sentenced to 180 days tether and five years of probation for filing a false insurance claim for damage to his home in Buchanan Township on Feb. 12. French must also pay $4,120 in fines and costs and perform 260 hours of community service. A restitution hearing has been set for July 23 since French disputes the $31,000 restitution figure claimed by the prosecutor. His attorney, Jason Engram, said French admits to throwing a circuit breaker through a window and damaging a guitar, but not doing all the other damage to his home. Engram said French did the damage he did after returning home and seeing the other damage done. "He works with his brother in French Brothers Construction; he enjoys construction and puts his heart into it," Engram said. "We've always said he did the damage but not the amount that they say he did. He wouldn't do that. He loves his home." "I apologize. I made a big mistake. I did something wrong," French said. "I threw something and destroyed something and made a claim. I never told the insurance company that I had done the damage." "Mr. Jones claimed he didn't know he was stealing, and you were stealing too," Schofield said. "Everybody pays insurance, and rates are higher than they should be because people make false claims. "Just because you steal from a company and it's spread over a huge number of people doesn't make it less important," the judge said.